POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The annual VISTE Thanksgiving meal distribution has grown over the last two decades into a large-scale effort that requires coordination, teamwork and a lot of preparation to offer senior citizens not only food but, also, connection.
“Alright, beautiful. Tuck them in there boys,” said Rick Abbatiello while helping to pack the trunk of a volunteer driver’s car.
Abbatiello keeps the cars moving every Thanksgiving eve for Volunteers in Service to the Elderly (VISTE).
“I’ve studied a lot of the ways people do it but Chick-fil-A’s got the best way to do it. If you kind of look at the way we got it over here, it almost looks [like Chick-fil-A]. The only thing we don’t say is ‘my pleasure’,” said Abbatiello…